Kissing the Lamb
by brukleflesche
Summary: Little boys grow up, but their hearts don't change.


**Disclaimer:** The series _Ranma__ 1/2_ **_does not_** belong to me in any way, shape, or form.

**Warning:** This story contains _boys' love_, which indicates romantic feelings between two males. If you find this offensive, it would be in your best interests to stop reading right now and find a story featuring only heterosexual relationships.

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**Kissing the Lamb  
**©2005 by Kei

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There is a person in your life for whom you would die, though for now you are too young to grasp such a concept. To you, this person is simply your 'most important person' and someone you want to be with all the time. 

Five years old, you are a chubby little thing with large dark eyes that will convince anyone to give you whatever you ask for, even Pop, who's always wanting you to learn how to fight and spar and hurt people.

But you, known as such a sweet child, don't want to hurt anybody, only to love your most important person.

Plus, you always tell people, he needs you! His heredity has given him a terrible sense of direction, a fact about which cruel individuals tease him. Consequently he is like a tiny, vicious dog, baring his little fangs to everybody who crosses his path.

Except _you_.

Because one day—because you know where he lives and you knew he got lost every day on the way home—you grabbed his hand, parried his furious blows (after all, Pop has managed to teach you _something_), and guided him home, skipping and singing and chattering all the way. You did it because you saw him in class and were pleased by the way he looked, fascinated by his small fangs, and intrigued by his infantile ferocity.

The next morning he was surprised to find you standing on tippy toes and pressing your short first finger continuously on the doorbell at his house. His surprise was compounded when you chirped, "Are you ready to go to school today, Ryou-chan?" Then you smiled brilliantly at him, showing a wee gap between two teeth where one bitty pearl had fallen out (and was replaced under your pillow with a whole ¥100!), and in that moment he became _absolutely yours_.

Since then he has been unfailingly loyal to you, and you ceaselessly loving to him. The two of you are always together, you ever in the lead, grasping his little hand in yours and constantly glancing back to smile at him, making him blush, which you think makes him even cuter so you smile as much as possible. He doesn't get lost anymore, so he doesn't get teased anymore, either, and all because of you. And that's why he needs you, you tell people, and that's why you won't fight with Pop, though sometimes you can't escape and you sob fiercely, wailing for your most important person while pummeling your hapless father.

When he is close to unconsciousness you are able to escape, weeping as you run away to where your most important person is. You fall down and skin your knee as you're getting to his door. Your sobs crescendo to a shriek of pain, leading a small, dark, tousled head to peep around the edge of the front door. Dark eyes grow large and he exclaims, fairly _flying_ to you. He helps you inside and does his infant best to take care of your injury, cleaning away the dirt with tap water and bathroom tissue. There is no blood, but there's still a lot of pain, and you tell him how badly it hurts, wiping away tears.

Then you watch, frozen in awe, as he bends down and kisses the scrape. He looks hopefully up at you and asks, "Does it feel better? When she's home, Mama kisses my boo-boos and that always makes 'em all better."

You blink and a grin blooms on your round, darling face. Then you bring up a finger to touch your lip. "Kiss here, too?" you request, nearly hopping with excitement. You know mommies always kiss their babies because they love them, and mommies and daddies kiss each other because they love each other. You love this person, your most important person, and he loves you, so it only makes sense that the two of you should kiss.

"Okay," he agrees guilelessly, and gently presses his lips against yours. You press back for a second before you have to pull away because you just can't stop smiling for some reason, but you are almost dizzy with happiness.

"Ryou-chan!" you cry, latching onto his arm and shooting him that smile that's his weakness, the gap-toothed grin below the large eyes that no one can resist. "You hafta kiss me _every day_, okay? _Every every **EVERY**_ day, okay?"

"Okay!"

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In time, you lose more teeth and new ones take their places. Your limbs grow, lose their childish chubbiness. You don't cry when you can't see your most important person, but you still pound Pop into the dirt when he insists on sparring, and now you can do it much more quickly than you used to. 

People don't think of you as sweet, though your big dark eyes can still enchant strangers and your smile is as winning as ever.

And you still have that person for whom you would die, and though you now utterly understand this concept, and though he hasn't kept that sort-of promise about kissing you every day, he remains the person for whom you would die.

And today you're going to tell him that, in a different way.

At his front door, you no longer have to stand on tippy toes to reach the buzzer, though occasionally you'll keep it pressed until he comes to the door because the devil in you can't resist annoying him every so often. And even though he knows it's you, he'll still wear that irritated scowl because it makes you laugh so, and you cherish him even more for expending the effort.

He answers the buzzing summons, and when he sees it's you a fanged grin splits his face that you so adore. He invites you in and you sit down and tell him you have something to say to him. He eyes you seriously, awaiting whatever pronouncement you have to make.

"Ryou-chan," you murmur hesitantly, for you haven't used this nickname for many years now. His expression morphs into one of slight confusion and curiosity, and a bit of surprise and flushed pleasure, for he hadn't expected to hear that affectionate phrase from your mouth ever again.

"Ryou-chan," you say again, stronger this time, more confident. "Ya hafta kiss me every day, okay? Because you're my most important person and I love you. I love you the most of anybody, so ya gotta kiss me every day, okay?"

"Ranma," he replies, moving closer until his breath mingles with yours, "okay."

Then he kisses you, and it isn't _in any way_ childish. He kisses you like you're supposed to be kissed by someone who loves you like this, like an adult. He kisses you long and hard, but it's so sweet and beautiful because it's your most important person, the one for whom you would die, and honestly yes (_God_, yes!) you could die _now _and you would die _happy_.

**-finis-**

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NOTES: _

Yeah, yeah, Ranma/Ryouga would happen, but it's fanfiction, so let me have my fun.

Please be so kind as to leave me a review, won't you? Any flames will be laughed at and subsequently (in Strongbad voice) **DELETED!**

Thank you for reading!


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